(PresidentialHill.com)- The vice chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, Bryan C. Williams, told OAN that he and his pro-Trump allies are working to challenge the incumbent at the September 9 meeting of the party’s central committee.
“I’m running for state party chairman to replace Bob Paduchik,” said Bryan C. Williams, who formerly served as a state representative and now on the University of Akron’s board of trustees.
Williams said that he met with Paduchik last month to inform him of his challenge. He said that he previously supported Paduchik when Jane Timken resigned last year because he felt that he would be able to keep the party connected to the voters given his skills and experience in grassroots campaigns. Unfortunately, Paduchik has been unable to do that and the state party has been a mess.
“He has not followed our party bylaws, and he’s done it to the detriment of those who want a more open, more collaborative and more inclusive process,” Williams said.
Paduchik has reportedly been “blocking reformers, removing them from committees, and refusing to appoint new members to committee assignments,” something that Williams says is hurting the party, as well as Paduchik’s attitude.
“With Bob it’s immediately my way [or] the highway,” Williams told OAN. “You don’t do what I want, you’re dead to meet [sic]. Lose my phone number, don’t call me—and for those of us who are on the committee, we can’t let that continue because it’s going to hurt the party in the long run,” he said.
The party book was also a mess, Williams claimed, saying that there were millions of dollars in write-offs and, while he does not think money was stolen, the books are disorganized.
Williams says that right now the party needs to reconnect with voters and get them enthused about voting which, as of right now, they are not as enthused as Democratic voters. He sees that mood as a reflection of the state party.
“I think the conduct of the state party contributes to that because we’ve had nothing for Pro-Trump Republicans by the state party organization, they get put down, they get put down, to they get put down,” he said.
